The Best Hearing Aid Devices
Hearing aids are probably one of the greatest inventions in this century. In the US alone, they have helped millions of people with hearing problems. Hearing aids don’t come cheap and a decent pair can cost from $200 for a simple personnel amplifiers to $30,000 for surgical implants.
As a result, before making your final decision on hearing aids purchase, there are a lot of things to consider such as costs, features, types, models and technology. Choosing the best hearing aid devices will take some time. The following paragraphs will teach you how to select the best hearing aids based on the severity of hearing loss.
Hearing Aids for Mild Hearing Loss
Some people with mild hearing loss might not even know that they have hearing issue and thus, are not using any hearing devices. Some people with mild hearing loss may not require a hearing aid. But it all depends on your physicians’ advices.
Nevertheless, if you are diagnosed with mild hearing loss, the best hearing aids to correct your hearing loss might be the open fit type devices. An open fit hearing aid is worn behind your ear and utilizes a tiny silicone ear bud that will fit into your ear canal. It transmits sound thru a wire that connects the devices with the tiny ear bud. With an open fit hearing aid, you will still be using your own hearing capabilities in combination with mild amplification produced by the device.
An alternative to hearing aid is a personal amplifier. A personal amplifier looks similar to a Bluetooth cell phone ear piece except that it provides mild voice amplification to one ear. The personal amplifier is best used in social settings to help you hear better and it’s specifically designed for people who don’t want to use a hearing aid.
Hearing Aids for Moderate Hearing Loss
People with moderate hearing loss should opt for a hearing aid. There are various types of hearing aids in the market that work best for people with moderate hearing loss. Most hearing aids are equipped with wireless technology such as Bluetooth and FM transmission. You can visit local clinics and the physicians should be able to recommend specific hearing aids that will address your hearing needs.
Other option for people with moderate hearing loss is to consider surgical implant of hearing devices. With this option, a tiny hearing device is implanted deep into your ear canal, sitting just a few millimeters away from your eardrum. The hearing devices can be turned on or off through an external remote control.
Moreover, middle ear implant is also an option for people with moderate hearing loss. The device amplifies sound with a magnetic field created inside your ear. Middle ear implant can be done partially within your ear. With a partial implant, there will be two devices; one is within your ear while the other one is worn behind your ear.
Hearing Aids for Severe Hearing Loss
Severe hearing loss can be corrected with a combination of hearing aids and assistive listening device (ALD). Hearing aids alone can’t address severe hearing loss entirely because the voice will get distorted if it’s amplified too high. With an extra ALD, a hearing aid is equipped with an external microphone that receives voice and transmits the signal to the hearing aids with little or no interference. The microphone can be attached on a shirt or placed on a table for maximum voice reception.
Alternatively, people with severe hearing loss can consider middle ear implant. Full middle ear implant works best for people with severe hearing loss. The downside to middle ear implant is that it will cost much more expensive.
Hearing Aids for Profound Hearing Loss
The best method to help people with profound hearing loss is through Cochlear implants. A typical hearing aid can’t address profound hearing loss since the patient might have already lost all hearing ability. Nevertheless, you might still find some people with profound hearing loss using hearing aids. The purpose of the hearing aids is to give them awareness of surrounding sounds.
Cochlear hearing aids implant works by using a thin electrical impulse wire to replace the nerves inside the cochlea. A magnet connected to the impulse wire is surgically implanted under the skin. The patient will then wear a hearing aid behind the ear and the device will be attached to the implanted magnet. The device transmits sound through the magnets into the implant.
